The invention relates to transmitting/receiving data, and more particularly, to an apparatus of transmitting/receiving multimedia data through a high definition multimedia interface and related method thereof.
The vertical blanking interval (VBI) is a time interval defined between the last visible line of one frame/field and the beginning visible line of the next frame/field. During this time interval, the data that is transmitted is not displayed on the screen. Taking an analog television system for example, the vertical blanking interval can be used to carry extra information, i.e., VBI data. However, due to the requirements of high quality video display, advanced transmission interfaces are developed. For example, the high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) has been developed from digital visual interface (DVI), where DVI is commonly utilized for computer monitors and HDMI is utilized for digital consumer electronic products (e.g., digital TVs, DVD players, DVD recorders, set-top boxes, and other digital video and/or audio products). Generally speaking, the HDMI is a transmission interface utilized for the transmission of a high definition multimedia digital signal including high fidelity image and multi-channel audio signal. Some of the benefits of high definition multimedia interface may include, but are not limited to, uncompressed digital video and use of a single connector/cable only.
However, the currently defined HDMI specification version 1.3a fails to fully support the VBI data transmission. For example, the currently defined HDMI specification only supports transmitting the aspect ratio information during the non-active video period. Therefore, it would be beneficial to use the high definition multimedia interface for transmitting more auxiliary information, including additional VBI data (e.g., closed caption, CGMS-A, etc.).